Chapter 43- Nova
Tattoo - Loreen
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The piercing squeal of grinding machinery jolts me awake, my eyes shooting open to light twinkling through tiny holes scattered over the car interior.
We’re still moving.
The car bounces over whatever road we’re on and I can hear the faint sound of music but otherwise, the white noise of our movement consumes everything. Taking quick stock of myself, I have all my clothes on, thank the gods, and I can't feel any major cuts. Although, I can't breathe through my nose so I think it's broken. Moving my hands over my body, everything seems in order when I feel a hard stick shaped object in the breast pocket of Ace’s shirt, something I didn't notice earlier when I threw it on. Retrieving it, my heart sinks when I see it's a simple blue capped pen. The same type you can collect from any stationary shop. If only this was one of his gadgets then I would at least have a weapon I could use against them.
Yanking the cap, it's stuck on so tightly that I barely notice the sting of the blade cutting into the pad of my finger when the cap finally comes off. Fresh blood trickles down the side of my hand and I'm so overwhelmed I could weep because the man I love and his stupid obsession with gadgets has paid off.
He's left a pen knife in his pocket.
I've never bothered to pay them much attention and I swear this looks like it's come straight out of a multipack pen box. Placing the cap back on it so I don't cut myself again, I know I need to get ready. Prepare myself. I will not go down without a fight and as the shock of everything that happened earlier settles, I start to make a plan.
The car jolts suddenly before it swerves, causing the tyres to screech, as they struggle to keep their traction. Stones flick up at the belly of the car and I know we’ve moved to a gravel road, making the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
They’ve taken me back.
Every cell in my body knows that they are taking me back to that bunker. Things bang against the side of the car and it feels like I'm being thrown around as we pass over pothole after pothole. I try to keep my legs facing the boot door. Knowing they are stronger than my arms. If I can get a kick or two in when they try to move me then I might be able to slow down what they’re intending to do.
In the back of my mind, I'm still trying to rack my brain over why Thad and this man are doing this. I guess if I really tried, I can understand that Thad might want vengeance if he thinks I took his father from him. In some fucked up version of this reality I can accept that hate, but the strange man? I have no clue other than he looks a little familiar. I could have passed him on the street and not given him a second look so I don't know how he thinks he knows me or that I'm a prize he deserves.
The car bounces one more time before I'm thrown into the side of the small space and we come to a complete stop. Scampering, I reposition myself, my legs ready as I hear a car door open. I have the pen knife in my hand, the blade facing down so I can stab it with as much downward force as possible.
Silence.
No footsteps. No talking.
BANG.
The sudden loud sound of someone hitting the thin piece of metal that separates me from the outside world causes me to jump and it takes everything in me not to make a sound. I need them to think I'm still passed out. Ace has taught me bits and bobs over the years and the element of surprise is a big one. My enemy thinks I'm helpless so they will have their guard down, not anticipating me to attack.
Straining my ears, I'm positive I can hear someone cackle as fingertips tap along the door from the outside, taunting me with what's yet to come.
But this time they’ve underestimated me.
I’m not that weak girl anymore. Taking a calming breath I try to foresee what will happen. If I can prepare myself then I won't freeze, or at least that's my logic. My mind works a million miles an hour coming up with every scenario possible and as the locking mechanism clicks open, I bring my leg back ready to strike.
I am snow.
Kick. Stab. Run.
“Rise and shine sleeping beauty, it's time to di—”
The force of my leg catching Thad in the gut forces his breath to rush out and he crumbles over, gasping and clutching his stomach.
Scrambling, I take the opportunity to leap out of the boot, my hurried movements causing Ace's oversized shirt to snag on the old worn metal of the car. I move to shove Thad over, trying to buy more time, but he's just out of reach when the caught fabric stops me from touching him.
In his crumpled state, he sneers at me and I hastily shake loose the shirt. Briefly, I register this is possibly the last time something of Ace will touch me and I mourn the loss.
Taking in my surroundings, I’m set to run but the large pine trees loom over me, laughing just like they did all those years ago. It's daytime and still they laugh, the panic rising so rapidly, my chest feels like it's going to explode.
I'm frozen.
I will my feet to move and I manage to stumble forward a few meters, dropping the pen knife in the undergrowth, the rough terrain digging into my soles. A strangled cry escapes me as all of my emotions flood my system. This isn't like before, I won't let it be.
Run.
Sensation prickles in my feet, continuing to rise up my legs until my lungs open and I take my first deep breath in what feels like days.
Run.
I'm not looking back. I've already wasted precious seconds fighting myself to gain control of my body. I take one short step, wobbling only slightly as I stumble into a nearby tree. Another step forward and I'm feeling more confident. Starting to pick up my pace, I focus on where each step will go on the forest floor. I can hear something behind me, getting closer but I don't dare look back as visions of a dark reaper figure consume my imagination and my steps become frantic.
I'm being chased.
RUN.
I crest the same small hill as all those years ago, an image of headlights shining along the highway in the dead of night flash in front of me. And still, I keep moving. I can't pay attention to what's happening behind me when I hear the familiar roar of an engine.
Ace.
My steps are erratic and I'm falling, stumbling, trying to get to him as fast as I can as the screams become louder behind me. Their taunts almost draw my focus, so when I break free from the undergrowth and stagger onto the warm tarmac of the highway, I barely notice the all familiar truck swerve around me. Ace emerges from the driver's seat before his truck comes to a complete stop. In his hands, he holds two guns and he looks like something out of a superhero film. His chest is heaving as he takes everything in. I'm sure a part of this seems surreal to him because it sure as shit does for me. Like we're living the same horror story over and over again.
Run.
I manage to lurch toward him. My only source of light in an otherwise dark world, when my hair is suddenly yanked from behind. Fingers scrape my scalp as the pull tightens and a strained cry escapes me when my back slams into a chest. The rancid smell of burnt cigarettes and stale breath assaulting my senses.
The strange man ... but who is he?
His warm breath hits my neck as he drags his nose behind the curve of my jaw smelling me.
“Now why did you have to go and do a thing like that and run from me? I’m going to have to kill your man there now,”
he says, nodding his head toward Ace. “And then you'll live the rest of your days in the dark. In a concrete prison where you will learn fast that you are nothing more than the holes you have. You are nothing to no one,”
he taunts. “I will succeed where he failed.”
His spittle flies across my cheek as he breathes me in but I keep my focus on Ace. They might not understand it, but he's in charge, not these two mouth breathers. I'm looking for instructions. A signal or clue as to what he needs me to do next. My heart hurts knowing this will end in a blood bath, only it won't be our blood. Another death Ace will have on his hands but one that the world needs.
“I love you.”
I mouth the words to Ace that I want so desperately to scream.
His grip on my hair pulls tighter and I can hear someone fall from the undergrowth further down the road. The person who I can only assume is Thad is wheezing so heavily that in normal circumstances I would be worried for his health but in this case, I hope he slowly suffocates.
“You think some meathead can save you, slut?”
Thad yells between gasps of breath. He really should see a doctor and get some bloods taken or something.
Ace tilts his head. A brief look of contemplation crossing his face.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
The sounds of bullets being fired in quick succession causes my body to stiffen and the strange man ducks behind me, using me as a human shield. I know that Ace is not aiming for us and I expect some sort of scream from behind me, but nothing sounds. Ace returns his gaze to me, taking several steps forward until the man holding me calls out, “Stop, or I’ll fucking kill her.”
“I love you,”
I mouth the words, again, not daring to make a sound.
“Let this be a lesson to you. He dared to call my wife a slut and now look at him.”
I chance a look behind me and see Thad's body lying on the grass berm. His neck looks severed, and his head half exploded, lying at an odd angle on the ground. But that's impossible because he was shot with bullets?
It's only right now, as all of this unfolds around me, that I understand the true talent Ace has. Why his skills we’re so sought after in the military. I knew he was gifted with his aim but he's literally cut a line of bullets through Thad's neck, something that even me, a gun novice, can appreciate is a talent.
The strange man gasps behind me, a low groan like a cornered animal coming deep from his chest.
“YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM,”
he screams, stepping out from behind me slightly like he wanted to go to Thad's body but couldn't decide what to do.
Pop, pop, pop.
The painful hands holding me leave my body and I'm propelled forward, not quite getting my footing and in the last second, when I bring my hands up to take the impact of my fall, large strong arms wrap around me, lifting me to safety.
“I have you, love, hold on to me now.”
I cling to him like a lifeline as clean linen surrounds me and I hold onto him tighter. Snuggling deeper into his embrace I thank all the gods for the man who seems to know when I need saving, and without fail appears. His voice repeats softly, that he has me, that nothing will hurt me, and I can breathe again.